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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867303">Just like Heaven</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/morereese/pseuds/morereese'>morereese</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ve Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Love, Good Parents Maggie &amp; Wentworth Tozier, M/M, Mutual Pining, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is Whipped, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Richie Tozier-centric, Slice of Life, but they killed the clown the first time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:02:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,053</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867303</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/morereese/pseuds/morereese</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maggie let out a sigh and pulled him into a hug, patting his back softly. "Don't rush it, Richie. You have your whole life ahead of you, and even if it doesn't work out, there's someone for everyone." </p><p>"Eddie is my someone." Richie said quietly, and Maggie smiled softly, pushing his hair back to kiss his forehead.</p><p>"I know."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak &amp; Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ve Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>131</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Just like Heaven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> July 5th, 1991 </em>
</p><p><em> Tell him, Richie. </em> </p><p>"Eds?" </p><p>Eddie's eyes moved from the stars above them to Richie's eyes, "Yeah?" </p><p>He looked beautiful in the moonlight, beneath the stars. His face was lit up and his eyes twinkled. Richie could feel himself falling just a little more. </p><p>"I - um..." </p><p><em> Just tell him, Richie. </em> </p><p>Eddie only watched him with a soft expression, silently telling him that it was okay to say whatever he had to say. </p><p>They did this often, snuck out late at night after their parents went to sleep to go down to the Barrens and stargaze, or they went to a convenience store and bought whatever snacks they could afford with Richie's money he got for his chores. Richie loved to watch Eddie smile as they found the constellations and even made some of their own up, laying in the grass without a care in the world. </p><p>Richie sat up and Eddie soon followed, still waiting patiently for Richie to answer. Richie found himself grabbing for the dog tags around his neck that Eddie got him for his fifteenth birthday, four months ago. They were from Eddie, so they gave him a little comfort. He found himself wondering how much money he'd have to save up to buy Eddie something for his sixteenth birthday this November. It'd have to be something special, because Eddie was the most special person in his life and last year Richie only gave him a small pocket knife with initials that Richie engraved himself, E. K., and a few dollars to go along with it. He'd have to outdo himself this year, and—</p><p>"Richie?" Eddie asked, shaking Richie a bit to get his attention. "Are you feeling okay?" </p><p><em> No, the love of my life is sitting in front of me and I don't have the balls to tell him how much I love him. </em> </p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Eds. Don't worry about me." Richie said, and Eddie nodded cautiously, seeming like he really didn't believe Richie. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the 7-Eleven, I have enough to get us both slurpees." </p><p>"Uh-huh, I have some money this time. I can pay for snacks." </p><p>Eddie stood up and offered Richie his hand, "What's a fine young man like you offering a helping hand to a girl like me?" Richie said in his best southern belle voice, taking Eddie's hand and giggling a bit when Eddie smacked him on the shoulder. </p><p>Richie pussied out, <em> again</em>.</p><p>The bigger picture was that he didn't have the balls to tell Eddie how he felt. He didn't think he ever would. </p><p>Watching Eddie as they walked to the 7-Eleven reminded him why he was so in love with Eddie, and why he was so terrified to tell Eddie that he liked him. He didn't want to lose nights like these, nights where they skipped down the pavement and laughed because no one was up to tell them to be quiet. There was no curfew after the summer of '89 and it was only around 10pm so there was no problem with going to the 7-Eleven like they usually did.</p><p>God, Richie just wanted to show Eddie how much he was loved, because he was. Richie loved him so much it hurt, he thought maybe he could actually feel his heart swelling whenever Eddie did something. </p><p>He was so <em> smitten</em>. </p><p>—</p><p>"Dad? Do you ever feel like you can't say something you really want to, even though it should be easy?" Richie asked, picking at his eggs and only nibbling his bacon. Wentworth eyed his son suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow at him. </p><p>"Is there something you want to tell me?" </p><p>Richie shrugged his shoulders and stabbed an egg before squishing it against the porcelain of his plate.</p><p>"Don't play with your food, Richie." Maggie said, setting orange juice down in front of him. </p><p>"Did it take you a long time to tell mom that you liked her?" Richie asked and Wentworth glanced over at Maggie, like he knew where this was going.</p><p>"It took me a while to tell you mother that I liked her because we were good friends in school, and she rejected me the first time I told her. She came around, though, thanks to my strikingly good looks." Wentworth said, straightening his tie as Maggie smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Why? Do you have a crush on someone, Richie?" </p><p>That caught Richie off guard, and he panicked a bit, opting to just shrug his shoulders and try not to blush. </p><p>"Well, you should always speak your mind, son. There's no use in shutting your mouth now. I didn't pay for those braces to shut you up, I paid for them to straighten your teeth." </p><p>
  <em> Just tell him, Richie.  </em>
</p><p>"Dad?"</p><p>"Yeah, son?"</p><p>"I think I like boys." </p><p>Wentworth's eyes widened and he choked on his coffee. Maggie stopped washing the dishes and turned slowly to look at Richie. </p><p>Richie knew he'd fucked up. </p><p>"That's... uh—" Wentworth began, and Maggie dried her hands to walk over to Richie and pull him into a hug. "It's okay." Maggie whispered in his ear, "I love you just the same, sweetheart." </p><p>"Is that why you were asking me all those questions? Not that you don't usually ask me a thousand questions." Richie nodded slowly and let his mother hold him, so grateful that they weren't disgusted. "I don't love you any less, i'm just glad you trust me enough with the information. Most children don't tell their parents shit."</p><p>Richie felt tears flood his eyes as his mother pulled him from his chair to properly hug him. "My sweet baby boy, I love you, so much." She whispered to him, holding the back of his head as he cried into her shoulder. He was a little taller than her, now, but that didn't stop her from holding him like he was still small. </p><p>Went wrapped his arms around the both of them, kissing the top of Richie's head. "We love you and we'll always support you, no matter what." He said softly, "Unless you want to become a serial killer, or something, then i'll have to politely decline and kick you out." </p><p>They all laughed at that and Richie felt a little more confident, knowing that he had support from both of his parents. He felt like a new person. </p><p>"I'm sure you can pull the boy you like, you do take after me, after all. With my devilishly good looks and your mother's tantalizing charm, you could have anyone you wanted." Went said, and Richie hugged his father again. "Thanks, dad." </p><p>"Yeah, don't mention it. I have to go to work but we will talk all about your little crush later." </p><p>Wentworth left and Maggie sat Richie down, "So... who do you have a crush on?" she asked and Richie grimaced. </p><p>"Mom..." He began. </p><p>"Is he someone I know?" He nodded, he could give her that much. "Well that's not enough information for me to guess."</p><p>"Who said I want you to guess?" Richie said, and she gave him a bored look. He gave up, sighing. "His first name ends in the same letter it begins with." </p><p>She thought for a moment, probably going through a list of boys Richie's age she knew. "Well, i've got two people in mind. There's that boy Roger you used to play with a lot when you were small, and there's Eddie. Did I get it?" </p><p>There was no way she guessed that. </p><p>"Yeah..." He said cautiously, and her face lit up. She clapped her hands. "It's Eddie." </p><p>"I'm good at this." She said, and Richie ran his fingers through his hair. "Eddie <em> is </em> cute isn't he?" </p><p><em> You have no idea. </em> </p><p>"He's... wow. He's something else, ma." Richie began, and she urged him to go on. "I've never felt this way with someone before, he just makes me so happy. I wanna tell him how loved he is, because... because I <em> love </em> him. I love him so much it hurts sometimes." </p><p>"That's so poetic." Maggie said, just to make Richie smile because he was beginning to look a little sad. </p><p>"It doesn't matter anyways, because I know he won't like me back." </p><p>Maggie scoffed and held his hands in hers, "Sweetheart, I don't know if i'm just getting old and my eyes aren't working as good as they used to, but whenever I see you two together, he looks at you in the exact same way you look at him." she said, and Richie's teeth caught his bottom lip, hope flashing across his face. "You two have been playing together for a while now, since you were little, Rich, and you two have always had something special. Not a lot of people have what you two have, especially two boys."</p><p>Maggie let out a sigh and pulled him into a hug, patting his back softly. "Don't rush it, Richie. You have your whole life ahead of you, and even if it doesn't work out, there's someone for everyone." </p><p>"Eddie is my someone." Richie said quietly, and Maggie smiled softly, pushing his hair back to kiss his forehead.</p><p>"I know."</p><p>—</p><p>It was just Richie and Eddie, again, today. None of the others could hang out; Stanley wanted to stay home for spring cleaning even though it was summer so it really wasn't spring cleaning, Mike had a lot of work to do around the farm since his dad died in the winter, Beverly had chores, Ben did, too, and Bill was on vacation. </p><p>They were laying in the hammock in their clubhouse, Eddie sleeping with his head resting on Richie's chest, laying between his legs. Richie tossed his comic away a little while ago, instead directing all his attention to Eddie. Eddie snored lightly in his sleep, and Richie thought it was the cutest thing. He moved some hair out of Eddie's face, taking in the shadows his eyelashes were casting on his cheeks, cheeks scattered with freckles that were more apparent in the summer because Eddie tanned easily. Eddie was starting to drool a bit on Richie's shirt, but Richie couldn't care less. </p><p>
  <em> I love you.  </em>
</p><p>"I love you." Richie whispered, running his hands through Eddie's hair slowly, hoping to whatever god there was that Eddie didn't hear it in his sleep. Eddie stirred a bit and Richie froze, but relaxed when Eddie settled back down. "I love you, Eddie." </p><p>It just felt good to say it, even if Eddie couldn't hear him. He practiced in the mirror a lot, because he thought he sounded weird when saying it. He spent a lot of time just staring at himself, repeating those same words over and over in the bathroom down the hall from his room. Sometimes he laid in bed at night and said it to the ceiling, and then he'd realize how pathetic he must seem, unable to say it to Eddie's face. Then he'd dream about kissing Eddie so sweet, maybe take him out on a date, buy him roses and chocolate even though his mother didn't normally allow him to eat sweets, and tell him how loved he was. </p><p><em> I want to be with you. </em> </p><p>"I want to be with you." Richie leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. "I want to call you my boyfriend, and kiss you whenever I want. I love you, so much."</p><p>This was the furthest he'd got, even if Eddie wasn't conscious. It was still progress, and if he didn't ever get to tell Eddie, he'd at least said it this way. </p><p>"I love you." </p><p>It didn't take much longer for Eddie to wake up, and they decided to go to Bassey park. Richie was a little scared to go there by himself, because that 31 foot Paul Bunyan statue attacked him two summers ago. He had a hard time even looking at it, sometimes. There was a lot of anti-queer graffiti that was done back in the 60's and 70's on the walls of the Kissing Bridge there, but Richie chose to ignore it most of the time. He thought about doing his own graffiti over it, just because, but he didn't want to get caught by authority or hateful people. The last time someone was caught trying to cover the vandalism, they were chased all the way through the Canal and through the Barrens until they were caught and beat to hell and back. </p><p>Richie really just didn't want that same fate. </p><p>After nearly being caught carving the R + E into the wood railing of the Kissing Bridge two summers ago, it spooked him out to even think about covering that graffiti. He'd had to run from Bowers and his goons, nearly being caught. Belch Huggins was big and slow, and Victor Criss couldn't fight, so he kept a knife on him. But Henry Bowers was big and strong and fast and <em> could </em> fight, the knife he kept was to taunt people and cut H's into fat kids' guts, apparently. </p><p>Belch Huggins and Victor Criss were murdered that summer. The town thought it was Henry because he started to go a little crazy, but Richie knew who actually killed them. Richie knew who killed all the kids that summer, and it wasn't Henry Bowers. </p><p>Richie found himself being a little relieved that they were dead, not because they were dead, but because he wouldn't have to worry about fearing for his life because of them. He'd spent so many years getting beat up and breaking his glasses because of them. They even stomped his Walkman and tossed his headphones into the Canal two summers ago, and it was expensive. He'd mowed so many lawns for that Walkman, and they'd just destroyed all his hard work in a matter of seconds. His father bought him another one for Christmas, but it didn't make him any less mad. </p><p>Richie needed a cigarette. </p><p>He chose not to smoke in the clubhouse, especially not around Eddie, since he hated it so much. </p><p>He was laying in the grass, smoking a Winston. He only had about two left, and he couldn't ask Bev for any because she liked Marlboro Reds and Richie couldn't stand the taste of those. He'd have to save them for emergency purposes. </p><p>"The wind is blowing the smoke in my face, Richie." Eddie said, sitting on a bench instead of in the grass with Richie. He was playing Richie's Game Boy, getting a little frustrated because he kept losing quickly at Tetris. "It's blinding me and I keep losing." </p><p>"We both know it's not blinding you." Richie said, sitting up and flicking his cigarette to knock the ash off the end. "You're just a sore loser."</p><p>"Am not!" Eddie yelled, groaning as he lost again. </p><p>
  <em> You're so cute when you're frustrated.  </em>
</p><p>"You just suck at Tetris. Play something else if it's that hard. You're pretty good Super Mario Land." </p><p>"I don't wanna play Super Mario Land. I play that all the time." Eddie said, and Richie sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette. Richie glanced at the cigarette and got an idea, holding it up to Eddie. </p><p>"Have some, it'll calm you down, help you focus." Richie said, raising his eyebrows and nodding towards the cigarette. "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should." </p><p>"You're just saying that because that's the slogan." Eddie said, setting the Game Boy down in his lap. "Besides, my mom said cigarettes give you cancer." </p><p>"Just try it, you might like it." </p><p>Eddie sighed and took it from him, hesitantly bringing it up to his lips to inhale slowly. He began to cough immediately, holding the cigarette away from his face. Richie had to laugh at him, watching as he caught his breath. </p><p>Richie remembered the first time he ever smoked a cigarette, Bev had handed him her Red, and he inhaled it quickly and deeply. He'd nearly thrown up, his coughing fit so intense it left him shaking. Marlboro Reds burned your throat, well—it burned Richie's. He really didn't understand why Beverly smoked them, they were awful.</p><p>"See, Eds?" He called, standing up to do the Mashed Potato. "<em> Winston tastes good like a cigarette should! Winston tastes good like a-" clap, clap, "-cigarette should! </em> " He sang, dancing around the bench. He only knew the old jingle from the Winston commercials because his dad always had it stuck in his head, and he'd walk around the house, smoking a cigarette, singing the jingle absentmindedly. His father was just a boy when those commercials played, and Richie'd asked him about the jingle one day, being told that it was the slogan for Winston cigarettes, and that the old cigarette commercials were banned a little before he was born, and that's why he never saw any. He <em> did </em> see some billboards, though, when he was smaller.</p><p>He took the cigarette from Eddie, and this time he was the hesitant one. He slowly brought it up to his lips and let it pass them. It shouldn't have been pleasant, but sharing a cigarette with Eddie was <em> basically </em> like kissing him. Just one step closer... </p><p>"God, that shit was <em> awful! </em>" Eddie said, coughing a bit more. "How do you smoke that crap, Richie?" </p><p>"Because... Winston taste good like a—" </p><p>"Shut the fuck <em> up</em>." </p><p>Richie laughed a bit, glancing around the park and spotting a flyer. The Canal Days Festival was getting close, it was about a week away. It ran from July 15th to July 21st, and Richie usually went, unless he was grounded.</p><p>"You gonna go to the festival with me this year, Eds?" Richie asked, and Eddie didn't lift his head from the Game Boy. He shrugged his shoulders, instead. The sound effect that played when you lost the level played and Eddie groaned, handing the console to Richie because apparently he gave up on Tetris for now. </p><p>"I'll have to ask my mom." </p><p>"That's alright." </p><p>There was a beat of silence and Richie laid back in the grass, again. He watched the clouds and listened as Eddie's watch went off, telling him that it was time for his medication. </p><p>Eddie stopped taking the placebos a year ago, usually flushing them or tossing them when his mother wasn't looking. Sometimes, when his mother was watching him, he'd pretend to take them, even drinking some water for effect, but hiding the pills under his tongue and spitting them out after. The sugar pills did nothing for him, anyway. </p><p>"You know, Eds..." Richie began, still watching the clouds. "If you do come to the festival, I can... I can win you, like, a bear - or a goldfish at the game where you toss the ping pong ball into the little fish bowls."</p><p>He was too scared to look at Eddie, so he didn't. He was already red, he didn't want to die inside if he looked and Eddie was grimacing or frowning, judging him silently. </p><p>"I'd love that." </p><p>
  <em> Wait... what? </em>
</p><p>Richie felt heat creep down his neck and he went a deep crimson, exhaling shakily. "O- okay." </p><p>Richie knew he was just going to embarrass himself, because he was so uncoordinated it was unreal. He sucked at throwing darts, and popping the balloons with them shouldn't have been hard, but they were for Richie. He wasn't good at the ping pong fish bowl game, either. He'd have to come up with something, and he really just didn't know what.</p><p>But it didn't matter, because Eddie said yes, and didn't judge him. Richie might've even caught a glimpse of Eddie blushing, just a bit, before he tore his eyes away in embarrassment. </p><p>"You ready to leave, yet, Rich? I'm getting a little tired of seeing ol' Paul every time I look to the left." Eddie said, snapping Richie out of his thoughts. </p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, me, too." He really wanted to say: <em> Yeah, let's get out of here. I'm scared ol' Paul's gonna wake up and try to flatten me, again </em>- but, they all tried not to talk about that summer, because it was so traumatizing and really didn't seem real. </p><p>They both stood up and made their way out of the park, Richie ducking his head on instinct, terrified that if he looked at that statue too long, it'd move. </p><p>"Any idea where you wanna go, now?" Eddie asked, they were running out of places to go, today.</p><p>"I got nothing." </p><p>"Yeah, me neither." </p><p>"Well... we could've window-shopped while we were downtown." Richie said, "A little too late for that, now, though."</p><p>Derry was too fucking small. </p><p>Eddie slid Richie's glasses off his face, putting them on and blinking a few times, squinting a bit because, yes, Richie was blind as a bat. "Do you think I look good with glasses?" </p><p>Richie couldn't see him clearly, but he could see him enough if he looked really close, and he was a dream. </p><p><em> I want to kiss you. </em> </p><p>"I can’t really see you,” He leaned in closer, close enough so his vision could focus on Eddie’s face. He was so gorgeous, even with his eyes magnified by Richie’s big glasses. “No, you look like a rat." </p><p><em> Fuck, I didn't mean to say that. </em> </p><p>Eddie frowned and took the glasses off, giving them back to Richie. "Fuck you. That's why you're blind, braceface." Eddie began to walk ahead of Richie and Richie mentally slapped himself in the face. </p><p>"Wait! Eds, that's not what I wanted to say." Richie said, grabbing Eddie's wrist to stop him from walking. Who knew shorts legs could carry someone so fast. "What I wanted to say was..." </p><p><em> You're beautiful. </em> </p><p>Eddie looked at Richie with those puppy dog eyes, and Richie knew he should say something decent, for once. </p><p>
  <em> I love you.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I want to kiss you.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You're prettier than anyone i've ever seen. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I hope you love me back. </em>
</p><p><em> Just </em> tell <em> him, Richie. </em></p><p>"You look like a cute rat."</p><p><em> Damnit</em>. </p><p>"Why do you insist on making fun of me? It's like you can't say one nice thing or it'll kill you." Eddie said, crossing his arms.</p><p>Richie had to at least try to say something different. Just this once.</p><p>"I'm sorry." Was all he could really muster, and it sounded like the most pathetic thing he'd ever said. </p><p>Eddie stopped walking and put his arms down by his sides, he looked a little startled, confusion contorting his face. "That's not what you're supposed to say." He said softly, frowning. "You - You're supposed to make another joke or make fun of me some more." You could tell he was beginning to panic and Richie really didn't understand why. </p><p>Richie just stepped a little closer and pulled him in for a hesitant hug, looking off into the distance, at nothing, really. "I'm sorry, really." </p><p>"Geez, Richie. You don't have anything to be sorry for, you haven't done anything wrong." Eddie said, hugging him back.</p><p>"It doesn't feel that way." </p><p>Eddie pulled back to give him a look, cocking one perfect eyebrow and pouting his lips. "We're just kidding around like always, Rich." </p><p><em> I want to kiss you. </em> </p><p>Richie could feel his heart speeding up, just looking at Eddie was nerve wracking. Their faces were <em> way </em> too close for Richie's liking, and Richie was too enticed to look away. Richie could only look at Eddie's freckles and his cute button nose, his puppy dog eyes and his pouting lips. </p><p><em> Kiss him. </em> </p><p>Richie dove in quick, pressing his lips to Eddie's but nearly missing because he was so uncoordinated at the moment. It wasn't a long kiss, because Richie was so terrified. He pulled back quickly, holding his breath, face completely red. </p><p>Eddie didn't look offended or scared, more confused than anything. He brought a hand up to Richie's cheek and cupped it lightly, "Richie..." Eddie began, being cut off by Richie. </p><p>"Fuck - i'm sorry." Richie said quickly, looking around to make sure no one was watching them. "I'm sorry that I kissed you, I don't know what I was thinking." </p><p>
  <em> I love you.  </em>
</p><p>"It's okay." Eddie said softly, "I... I liked it."</p><p>Richie felt his heart stop.</p><p>"Really?" Richie found himself asking, because he really couldn't believe what he was hearing. </p><p>Eddie nodded, giving him a small smile. </p><p>"Can I do it again?" Richie asked slowly, bringing his voice down a bit. </p><p>Eddie nodded, again. "Just - not out here. I don't want anyone to see, you know..." Richie understood. Derry was no place for queer people, and it never would be. The people there were bigoted, and devoted to hurting people that were different. They turned their heads when they should be in action, but were so completely set on hurting those who were harmless. </p><p>A large smile basically took over Richie's face, and it was all teeth and stupid braces with no colored bands. Richie knew he must look stupid, with a smile so big and dopey plastered across his face, but he didn't care. Eddie Kaspbrak just said he liked kissing Richie; and that's all Richie could ask for. </p><p>Richie took Eddie's hand, and they ran together. It would've been a lot faster on bikes, but Eddie's mother took his away for a while, since he fell off it a few weeks ago and scraped himself up pretty bad. She didn't want it to happen anymore, so she said he couldn't ride it until he was all healed up and thought considerably about how to properly ride a bike without hurting himself. Richie decided that if Eddie didn't have his bike, Richie wouldn't ride his, either. Richie wished he could ride another person on the back of his bike, like Bill, but unfortunately he couldn't, so he'd settle for traveling on foot with Eddie for now. </p><p>They ran through the barrens, taking a path that led them to an opening in the trees. They usually made sure to hide their clubhouse door, but it wasn't too hard to find, for them. For someone who doesn't spend too much time down in the barrens, the ground just looks normal, but the losers know exactly where to look. Richie kicked the leaves and dirt away, pulling the latch and lifting the door. Eddie went down first, and Richie nearly fell in after him, trying his best to hurry up. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he was going to make the best out of it. </p><p>"You ready for this, Rich?" Eddie asked, and Richie let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. </p><p>"I've wanted this for years, Eds." </p><p>"Are you scared?" Eddie said softly, ducking his head a bit. </p><p>"Yes." </p><p>"Me, too."</p><p>Richie took a step forward, taking hold of Eddie's hands. Eddie's hands were shaking, but so were Richie's. Eddie straightened his back, fixing his posture because Richie was a lot taller than him, now. Richie really didn't know what to do with his hands, so he just held Eddie's hands and leaned forward, slowly. </p><p>He had no idea at all how this would go, he didn't know how to kiss, he'd never kissed anyone before. Maybe he'd copy what they did in the movies, or just press his lips against Eddie's. Yeah, that'd work. </p><p><em> I hope I don't fuck this up. </em> </p><p>Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and leaned up, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. Everything was going in slow motion, almost. It felt like it was taking forever for Richie's lips to meet Eddie's; but when they finally did, Richie thought he might die. It was just a simple press of the lips, nothing special. But, fuck, was it special for Richie. This was all he ever wanted, and more. This was all he could ever ask for. Eddie Kaspbrak was kissing him back, leaning up on the tips of his toes so Richie wouldn't have to bend so far down. </p><p>When they pulled back, Eddie let out a deep breath and bit his lip. Richie just smiled, because he was so <em> happy</em>, happier than he'd been in a long time. </p><p>"<em>Yowza</em>." Was all Richie could say, completely breathless and euphoric.</p><p>"I really fucking like you, Richie." Eddie said, watching Richie with those big eyes. "Like - <em> like</em>, like you." </p><p>Richie didn't look at himself as a likable person, exactly. He was tall and gangly, kind of, he had a big mouth full of metal and his glasses made his eyes look bigger than they were. He was developing acne, and his front teeth were too big. His jokes weren't funny, as much as he'd like to believe they were, and he joked around when things got too serious for his liking.</p><p>"God, I like you, too." Richie replied, and it felt so fucking good to finally say it. He'd been holding it back for years, and all it took was a step.</p><p><em> I fucking love you. </em> </p><p>Richie refused to let himself do anything but plateau for so <em> long</em>. Right now was the start of something big, something <em> good</em>. Not a lot of good things happened to Richie. </p><p>"So, does this mean that we're..." Eddie began shyly, kicking a pebble and nervously playing with his fingers. "Boyfriends?"</p><p>"If you want to be." </p><p>"I do," Eddie nodded, "But what if someone finds out. You know what they do to queer people around here."</p><p>Richie did know what they did to queer people in Derry, and he was absolutely terrified of it. There was no way he was going to allow himself or Eddie be outed. </p><p>"Then they just won't find out." </p><p>There was a beat of silence, and then Eddie spoke up. </p><p>"What about the losers?" </p><p>Richie hadn't thought that far. They were probably accepting, he guessed. They were by far the coolest and most accepting people he knew, so why wouldn't they accept this? </p><p>"They're our best friends, i'm sure they won't throw us out on our ass. We don't have to tell them if you don't want to." Richie said, pulling Eddie in for a hug. Eddie happily buried his face in Richie's chest, hugging him back a little tighter.</p><p>"I don't want to tell them... not right now." </p><p>"Okay." </p><p>Eddie lifted his head a bit, and Richie had never seen something cuter. </p><p>"Can you kiss me again?" He asked quietly. </p><p><em> You don't even have to ask. </em> </p><p>"Anything for you." </p><p>
  <em> I love you, Eddie Kaspbrak. </em>
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